It’s always fun to highlight the Jefferson High sub-varsity teams. They don’t get the weekly fanfare of the varsity squads, but this year’s basketball squads turned in great performances.
The C girls team went undefeated with an 11-0 record — and most of their victories weren’t close. They toppled Manhattan, 50-18; Townsend, 43-31; Sheridan, 52-13; White Sulphur Springs JV, 62-10; Townsend, 39-24; Townsend (half game) 29-9; Manhattan, 39-24; Bozeman, 51-25; Three Forks (half game), 19-12; Townsend, 55-19; and Townsend again, 55-7.
The Panthers averaged 45 points a game while holding their opponents to 14.5. Core players included Jessie Harris, who averaged 5.6 points a game, Emma McCauley (8.7), Austie May (11), Izzy Morris (8.2), and Cia Stuber (12.2). Kaera Averill, Rylee Baird, Tempe Solomon and Dakota Edmisten also contributed. Most of those girls also played on the JV team, and a few got minutes with the varsity.
The lady JV Panthers also went undefeated at 17-0. They beat Twin Bridges by 46-19; Anaconda, 61-30; Whitehall, 55-22; Manhattan, 46-21; Three Forks, 37-23; Choteau, 47-29; Manhattan Christian, 51-43; Big Timber, 48-36; Deer Lodge, 27-10; Townsend, 53-18; Whitehall, 47-31; Manhattan, 50-48; Three Forks, 39-31; Ennis, 55-12; Big Timber, 61-49; Choteau, 43-27; and Townsend, 60-20.
The Panthers averaged 48.5 points a game while giving up just 27.5. Dakota Edmisten scored 7.9 points per game, while Grace Alexander added 6.4; Sam Zody, 2.4; Becca Nelson, 2.7; Hailee Stiles, 3.1; Abbie Youde, 4.4; and Olivia Lyon, 3.7.
The boys C team had a strong 12-2 season, losing twice to Big Timber. In the first of those games they dropped a heartbreaker, 51-49. And in Big Timber, the Panthers led by 31-18 at the half, but went cold after that, taking a 48-43 defeat.
Otherwise, the Panthers beat Manhattan, 57-54; Three Forks, 40-22; Sheridan, 48-43; Manhattan Christian, 45-42; Townsend, 53-21; Deer Lodge, 55-49; Townsend, 53-36; Manhattan, 53-49; Bozeman, 55-46; Three Forks, 57-56; Townsend, 74-35; and Townsend again, 70-35.
The C-team Panthers averaged 53.7 points per game while ceding 41.9. Michael Emter led the team with a 11.2 average, while Wade Rykal added 9.6; Zach Zody, 7.1; Logan Gilmore, 6.9; Hyrum Park, 5.9; Tom Meyer, 5.3; Dylan Root, 4.7; Carter Bogy, 3.1; JJ McDougal, 2.3; and Dylan Alexander, 0.9. Emter scored 10 points or more in eight games, while Wade Rykal did so in seven.
And the JV boys squad went 12-5. They started the season by besting Anaconda 55-31, then beat Twin Bridges, 61-51, and Whitehall; 57-21; lost to Manhattan, 46-59, and Three Forks, 43-45; beat Choteau, 67-27, White Sulphur Springs, 37-11, Big Timber, 53-41, and Deer Lodge, 60-54; lost to Townsend, 50-62; beat Whitehall, 74-27; lost to Manhattan, 52-60; beat Three Forks, 57-54, and Ennis, 73-54; lost to Big Timber, 38-41; and beat Choteau, 67-31, and Townsend, 71-47.
The JV Panthers averaged 56.5 points a game while giving up 42.1. Among the core players, Joey Visser led scoring with 9.8 points a game, while Braden Morris contributed 8.1 ppg; Luke Eckmann, 7.4; Jake Genger, 6.9; Cade Coate, 5.6; Logan Gilmore, 5.4; Wade Rykal, 5.2; Hyrum Parke, 4.8; and Zach Zody, 3.8. Eckmann led the team with 17 three pointers and dished out 28 assists, while Morris had 40 steals, and Rykal blocked 11 shots.
As with all high school sports, these basketball teams were so much fun to watch. And all told, the sub-varsity squads went 52-7 for the season, indicating that Jefferson High fans have a lot to look forward to in the years to come.
